Finally, it explores the moral question that emerged – both within the squatting movement and more widely – about the occupation of private property. For instance, ‘non-state’ theory posits that squatting is an act of autonomy and countercultural alternative to the dictates of state and capitalism. Furthermore, it examines the influence of Left-wing housing politics in informing the thought processes of the squatters. It discusses the ways in which squatting revealed wider social understandings about the meaning of the family and how far this concept was being broken down over the period. It also focuses on the motivations and responses to these squats and the squatters that inhabited them. Arguing that there was a demarcation from the first phase (1969-1972), which was based on family squatting, against the second phase (1974-1980), which was engaged in by young single people who sought to expose the flaws in the housing market by occupying private property.

This dissertation explores squatting in London from 1969 to 1980. Why is it that Napoleon I, once the most hated and feared enemy of Britain, has obtained an almost celebrity-like status in Britain today whilst Napoleon III, the friend of Queen Victoria and champion of the entente cordiale is largely forgotten by the general public? The answer, this thesis argues, can be found in Victorian perceptions of both Napoleons, and in the resulting perceptions of themselves. Through analysis of letters to the editor and newspapers which appealed to all classes of society, this thesis does not produce a history of ‘Great Men’ from the top-down but rather an analysis of how such men were perceived from the bottom up and how popular perceptions helped shape their legacies. It is argued that Victorian Britons frequently viewed Napoleon III through the lens of Napoleon I with significant consequences for the legacies of both Emperors today. This MA Thesis analyses hundreds of Victorian newspapers, periodicals, pamphlets and other media to investigate how Victorian perceptions of Napoleon I affected perceptions of Napoleon III and vice versa.

Napoleon total war toons all in one